Sooner or Later
by Khelan
Summary: Roxy goes on a run-of-the-mill reap while contemplating her lot in life. Mild gore and one use of the F-Word. Oneshot.


She paid no real care to the windscreen of the car as she slapped a bright yellow ticket on it with a slap. Taking a moment to take in her personal mental victory over another of Seattle's public, Roxy tucked her notepad back into her shoulder bag. Hands on her hip she looked up and down the street before making her way over to her scooter. Just another one of those fucking boring days, she thought to herself, why I bother spending time doing this I have no idea.

It would be so easy to live like Mason. Well scratch that, it wouldn't be altogether easy but at least living like Mason would shed the general monotony that she had settled herself into. Stealing spare change from the parking meters wouldn't really bring out the cash required to maintain her lifestyle. But there was times that she had to admit that it did seem like fun.

She checked her watch. Midday. According to the post-it Rube had given her over breakfast that morning she had three minutes until she would be entertained by the untimely demise of an E. Baker. Whoever the fuck E. Baker turned out to be. Looking upwards for a moment, Roxy had to squint as the sun flashed in her direction. She always enjoyed betting with herself how the next customer that afternoon was going to meet his or her maker.

The street was busy, that was for sure. The road was alive with the lunchtime rush. Men in suits and flashy convertables talked on cellphones while they made a run to the local Starbucks. She hid a smirk. If guys like that new how many people she had reaped because of nutjobs driving while talking on a cellphone they would probably never leave the house.

After a minute or so of standing perfectly still and pulling her most threatening scowl, a flash of gold caught her eye. She focussed on the source of this sudden glare and was drawn towards a man standing a few feet to her right. He was a tall man with an exceptionally long nose. A polystyrene cup, probably filled with coffee, was clasped tightly in his left hand and a briefcase in his right. The glare that had caught Roxy's eye actually came from the expensive rolex on the man's wrist. The dial reflected the midday sun at the perfect angle directly into her face.

Annoyed, Roxy walked casually in his direction. Occurances like the reflection from the rolex, from her experience, didn't tend to happen without a reason. There was always something that attracts a reaper's attention to the soon to be deceased. Maybe it was the smell.

Sure enough, as more of the details of the man came into focus Roxy could make out a monogram on the victim's briefcase. E.B. Here's our happy camper, she thought to herself. Soon to be heading to the great corner office in the sky. Suddenly, without warning the man turned to her. The skin around his eyes was red and sore from rubbing them too much and his brow was furrowed into deep worry lines on his face. He was visibly shaking and Roxy found herself wondering how many cups of coffee this gentlemen had managed to injest in the last hour. "I'm done for." he blurted.

"How did y--" Roxy began, but stopped herself when the guy continued babbling.

"They're going to kill me." he said quickly, not pausing to take a breath. "I just know it. The stock crashed, I couldn't help it, I cou--. No one could have predicted. Oh god, I'm going to lose my job. I can't. I can't. Oh god-Oh god- Ohgodohgodohgod."

He dropped his briefcase onto the sidewalk with a clatter and brought his now-free hand up for grab a handful of his hair. Roxy raised her own arm and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She felt a cool rush as the soul seemed to brush the tips of her fingers as it glided past her like a flurry of autumn mist. The nervous guy seemed to visible sag. "Sometimes these things happen." She offered simply, "sometimes sooner than you might expect."

He looked at her incredulously and Roxy let her hand drop. "These things don't just happen." He replied, a vacant yet almost etheral tone to his voice. "Things don't just end like this." Angrily he kicked his briefcase off the sidewalk and into the road where it lay very still, only a few feet from them.

"Things end all the time." She responded, looking out across the street, "Sometimes sooner rather than later."

The man shot her a look that was dripping with disdain. He it had taken him till now to notice that he was having a conversation with a meter-maid. That was the caffiene talking. "Yeah well," he spat, stooping to pick up his briefcase. "I was hoping I could have had a little more time."

The screech of brakes was audible from both sides of the busy street. The man barely had time to locate the origin of the piercing squeal before the truck hit him. Roxy took a step backward to narrowly avoid a random splash of caffiene-laced blood and gore. Smirking slightly, she looked at the horrorstruck individual beside her. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the remains of what was once his physical body. Roxy grabbed him by the arm and ushered him away.

"Looks like that coffee ain't the only thing you're not gonna get to finish today."


End file.
